Solano County D.A's bail increase request denied

A Solano County Superior Court judge denied a request to set bail above schedule for a Fairfield man accused of a fatal hit-and-run accident on Peabody Road late last year.

Alex Perez, 24, appeared in the Fairfield courtroom of Judge Donna Stashyn on Tuesday for a hearing on the prosecution's request to increase his bail amount to $500,000. Perez, who remains free on $120,000 bail, has pleaded not guilty to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

Several court hearings in Perez's case have ended with verbal spats, to the point where Perez and his family have requested sheriff's deputies to routinely escort them out of the courthouse.

At the end of an Aug. 27 probable cause hearing, Sala's mother allegedly said, "You killed my son," as she exited the courtroom. Perez reportedly responded by making a derogatory comment about the victim.

Prosecuting Deputy District Attorney Rashaan Jones called Perez's alleged comments about the victim "shocking," and "egregious," in asking that bail be set at three times greater than the normal bail schedule. Jones further argued that Perez would continue to be a threat to public safety, as his alleged comment showed a lack of remorse.

Perez's defense counsel, Fairfield criminal defense attorney Thomas Maas, argued that it would not be fair or constitutional to lock him up at such a bail amount just because he "lost his cool."

In the end, Stashyn agreed to increase Perez's bail to $165,000, the scheduled bail amount since prosecutors recently added an enhancement to the charges.

Perez was ordered back to court at 9 a.m. on Friday for the setting of a trial date.